Daily Kickoff
Word On The Street: Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu plans to speak at the progressive Center for American Progress (CAP) during his upcoming visit to Washington, DC. We reached out to both Israeli officials and CAP for official confirmation but have yet to hear back. The Prime Minister was already scheduled to receive the Irving Kristol award from the conservative American Enterprise Institute on November 9th and the speech at CAP may therefore be intended to balance the partisan associations of the trip. In addition, CAP’s President Neera Tanden was spotted at the Israeli Embassy last night.
SCENE LAST NIGHT: Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, along with his wife Rhoda, hosted a dinner reception at the Embassy to honor the memory of Yitzhak Rabin. Speakers included Dermer, Henry Kissinger and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Spotted: Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell, Wolf Blitzer, William Daroff, Treasury Sec. Jack Lew, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Sen. Chris Coons, former Rep. Jane Harman, former Sec. of State Madeleine Albright, Thomas Friedman, Jeffrey Goldberg, Leon Wieseltier, Brent Scowcroft, Aaron David Miller, AIPAC’s Howard Kohr, Malcolm Hoenlein, Abe Foxman, NSC’s Robert Malley, former Israeli National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror, CAP’s Neera Tanden, Jay Footlik, Rep. Ted Deutch, Rep. Ted Lieu. Pics — [Dermer; Daroff]
“Bill Clinton Recalls Personal Moment with Hillary After Rabin’s Assassination” by Jacob Kornbluh: “When I was told that [Rabin] was shot, I ran upstairs to see my wife. We literally just sat there and held each other for, like, 20 minutes,” Clinton recounted. “I was distraught, and said, ‘I just can’t sit still anymore.’” Asked what it is that triggers his memory in occasionally thinking of Rabin, Clinton mentioned the fights the Israeli premier and Hillary had about smoking in the White House, forcing him to go out on the Truman balcony to smoke his cigarettes. [JewishInsider]
ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt: “20 Years After Rabin, Extremists Still Legitimize Violence in Israel” [Haaretz]
“Dennis Ross: Obama Thought He Had Licence to Openly Criticize Israel” by Jacob Kornbluh: “Because he felt, genuinely, a very strong commitment to Israel’s security, he felt that also gave him the licence to be openly critical,” Ross stated. “He did believe – early on in the administration – that being openly critical could also bring some benefit for us at a time when we are reaching out to the Muslims. That was the kind of mindset.” [JewishInsider]
Behind the Scenes: “How the Temple Mount Camera Deal Prevented a Serious Crisis With Jordan” by Barak Ravid: “One of Kerry’s advisers had seen an article that Israel’s ambassador in Washington, Ron Dermer, had written for the Politico website in which he had tried to undermine Palestinian complaints directed at Israel over the Temple Mount. Israel accepted a status quo that limited prayer on the Temple Mount to Muslims and that only allowed Jews to visit the site, Dermer wrote. The Americans inserted this provision from the Politico article into the text of the statement.” [Haaretz]
Jonathan Schanzer: “Why Hamas Has Not Unleashed Violence From Gaza” [WSJ]
Aaron David Miller: “U.S. Middle East Policy: Are Things That Bad?” [WSJ]
Josh Rogin and Eli Lake: “U.S. Is Driving Mideast Allies Toward Putin” [BloombergView]
Bret Stephens: “Iran is testing the agreement, reinterpreting it, tearing it up line by line. For the U.S.—or at least our next president—the lesson should be clear: When you sign a garbage agreement, you get a garbage outcome.” [WSJ]
Thank you to Haaretz and the Free Beacon for picking up our story on Martin O’Malley [Haaretz; FreeBeacon]
Speaking of… “O’Malley, Low On Time And Money, Argues The Race Is Just Starting” by Ruby Cramer: “The former Maryland governor, looking to make inroads now that the Democratic field has narrowed, is short on time and cash. He reported beginning the quarter with just $800,000 — but based on an analysis of his financial filings, O’Malley effectively started with significantly less cash on hand.” [BuzzFeed]
“Cruz’s quiet fundraising strength: A network of wealthy donors” by Katie Zezima and Matea Gold: “Shmuley Boteach, a New Jersey rabbi and former congressional candidate, has been introducing Cruz to members of the Jewish community in New York and Los Angeles. Boteach said Cruz is diplomatic when it comes to hot-button issues — such as the time Boteach told the senator he has a gay brother and doesn’t think he should speak so stridently against same-sex marriage. “He’ll respond very respectfully and say, ‘Okay, Shmuley, we respectfully disagree,’ ” Boteach said. “I do not find him dogmatic about it. . . . When you get to know the guy, he’s measured. This is a Princeton, Harvard graduate.” [WashPost]
“Wall Street appears to be warming up to Marco Rubio” by Jonathan Marino: “Rubio is scheduled to speak on November 3 — Election Day — at Michael Dell’s MSD Capital in New York… And he’s expected to participate in a discussion on Israel and Iran at the Lotos Club in the afternoon, as well, according to a source.” [BusinessInsider]
“Jeb Bush: Give Israel Bunker Busters to Deter Iran” by Jacob Kornbluh: “Bush said he would push to give Israel “access to the most sophisticated military equipment” for offensive security measures, upping their capability of destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities. “Iran right now does not think we’re serious,” he said. “If we gave [Israel] the capacity to strike – I’m not suggesting that that happen – it would create a deterrent.”
–Jeb on Israeli politics: “You know, everybody talks about the rowdiness of our political process. Wow. Go to Israel. That’s a contact sport plus. I mean, it’s like gladiators.” [JewishInsider]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Hedge-Fund Priest: Thou Shalt Make Money: The reverend was born Gregory Lemelson to a Jewish father and Christian mother.” [WSJ] • “Iran’s Man in New York Is Hunting for Billions of Dollars” [Bloomberg] • “Drahi’s Altice Tweaks Strategy to Lure Back Customers” [WSJ]• “Saban Films Names David Wardle As VP Business & Legal Affairs” [Deadline] • “Jeffrey Katzenberg Thanks Tesla’s Elon Musk After Car Accident: “You Saved My Life” [HollywoodReporter] • “Tax Court Says Redstone Stock Transfer Not A Taxable Gift” [Law360] • “Industry City to Get $220M From Bank of China and SL Green” [Observer] • “Sam Domb’s Empire Hotel Group sells Midtown dev site for $54M” [RealDeal] • “Israel’s Check Point ups forecasts after strong cyber security demand” [Reuters] • “A-list investors Henry Kravis, Marc Benioff back Convoy’s plan to streamline freight operations” [Fortune] • “Sports Data Company Raises $44 Million From Ted Leonsis, Mark Cuban And Michael Jordan” [Forbes]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “After the revolution, many Jews fled Cuba. These are among the ones who remain.” [WashPost]
CAMPUS BEAT — Eric Fingerhut Op: “Jewish students deserve a break from BDS” [ToI]
“Jewish Organizations Reject University of California’s Intolerance Policy: The University of California is going back to the drawing board Monday after a proposed policy on intolerance was rejected by Jewish organizations that say it does not go far enough to address anti-Semitism on UC’s 10 campuses.” [NBC-BayArea]
PROFILE: “Justice Ginsburg’s Cautious Radicalism” by Irin Carmon: “It was Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s vision, distilled: Have a radical aim, but proceed with caution. Unlike the Notorious R.B.G. meme, which celebrates the justice by juxtaposing her with the legendary rapper Notorious B.I.G., this message is unlikely to go viral. But our current paralyzed political moment is in dire need of it anyway.” [NYTimes]
TRANSITION: “Tisch to step down at end of term” by Keshia Clukey: “State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, confirming a long-rumored decision, announced on Monday she will not run for reelection when her term ends in March. Tisch, who was appointed to the board in April 1996 and has held the position of chancellor since she was elected by the Regents in 2009, has pushed for higher standards and led the board through the controversial rollout of the Common Core learning standards.” [CapitalNY]
RISING STAR: “Tavi Gevinson: The teen queen of Rookie Magazine” by Susan Krashinsky:“At 15, she became editor-in-chief of Rookie Magazine while still in school. At 19, she employs five editors and herself, full time, at the headquarters in Brooklyn. “I’m really lucky that I had parents who were supportive but not pushy.” Because of her mother, Berit – an artist who weaves tapestries with scenes from the Torah – Ms. Gevinson came to see creative projects as a daily habit.” [Globe&Mail]
SPORTS BLINK: “With Mets in World Series, the Wilpons Are Also Owning the Moment” by Tim Rohan: “Amid the clubhouse bacchanal, Wilpon’s father, Fred, the Mets’ principal owner, had retreated to a quieter place. Though he might have felt that some amount of gloating was in order, he refrained from doing so, just as his son did. Their restraint was noticeable.” [NYTimes]
BIRTHDAYS: Matt Drudge turns 49… Gary Glickstein… Gordon Gerson…
